by Brea Essex
She shrugged it off. “I know that’s you, Rae. I don’t feel like talking to you right now.”
Her throwing my words back in my face was annoying — even though I knew she was going for hurtful.
“All right. I’ll see you later.” I turned to Logan. “Let’s just go.”
As we walked out, I glanced over my shoulder. Cady was slumped over, her elbows on the counter, as she watched us leave.
“I think she’s in love with you,” I informed Logan as we climbed into his car.
He raised one eyebrow. “Doesn’t matter. You’re the only one I want.”
“It matters to me. She’s one of my best friends.”
“And you hate to see her hurting. Is that it?”
Already he knew me too well. “Yeah, sort of.”
“What else is it?”
“There’s something… off. I don’t understand it. She’s way weirder than normal.”
“You think it has to do with something other than us?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I should never underestimate the powers of a jealous teenage girl, but you would think she would at least be happy for me. Plus, she’s started prying about what happened when I was gone. Like you said, there’s no way I can tell her about the Shadow Imperium, angels, devils — any of that stuff. She wouldn’t understand. Either that, or she’d get super excited and start stalking you or something.”
He seemed to find that funny. “I know you probably feel like you need to talk about what happened to you. Can you talk to me about it? Or do you need a girl to talk to?”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. As much as I wanted to be completely honest with him, I was worried he would just get angry and try to go back there and destroy them all. He already knew Andrei had chained me and starved me, but he didn’t know about the prophecy or what Andrei had actually wanted me for. He had asked me several times, but after I refused to answer, he stopped pressing. Hopefully I would be able to tell him everything at some point.
“I don’t even know,” I finally answered. “There’s no girl I could talk to. Genevra would freak out, and Tanis would be skeptical. Cady — well, you saw her reaction.”
“What about Ismene?”
“The psychic? I had almost forgotten about her. I don’t know. I mean, she brought Nuada back, and she gave me that prediction, which seemed pretty reliable. I don’t know her well enough to know if I should trust her or not.”
“What about Father Matthias? I know he’s not a girl, but maybe he can help? He is a priest, after all. He did help me find you. He told me what I was and about my powers.”
“I guess so…” I didn’t actually want to go talk to some priest, but Logan seemed so excited about it. “Now then, why were you at my work?”
He smirked. I was finding that I had missed that expression. “Someone had to pick you up.”
“Yeah, Genevra was supposed to.”
Glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, he said, “Who’s better to protect you if something goes wrong: Genevra or me?”
“You’re right,” I admitted. “You’re definitely the better choice. If Andrei showed up again, there’s nothing Genevra could do except call the police. You and I both know that wouldn’t do any good against him.”
“So do you want to go to the church now?”
“I should probably go home first. Genevra would never understand if I went to a church instead of coming straight home from work. I’d get this huge lecture about how I was needlessly worrying her, et cetera.”
He seemed annoyed. “Look, Rae, this is important to me. Will you just go?”
Whoa. He must be serious. He never called me by my nickname. “I guess…”
His expression softened. “What if we go in the morning instead? Will that give you enough time to talk to Genevra?”
“Tomorrow sounds good.” I finally climbed into his car and he drove me home.
Chapter Five
“So tell me again exactly why I have to go to this church with you?” I asked the next morning. Logan came over, but now he insisted we visit the Catholic church before anything else. Not exactly my idea of a date.
Logan looked annoyed at my protestation. “Because he helped me find you. He told me what I am,” he said in a clipped voice. His eyes remained glued to the road.
I was sufficiently admonished. “Sorry, I’ve just never been much of a church person,” I admitted.
He glanced at me briefly out of the corner of his eye. “Neither was I.”
We fell silent as he pulled into the parking lot. When we walked into the church, I was stunned by the size of it. It was a lot bigger on the inside than it looked outside. I was feeling a little overwhelmed. There was stained glass everywhere, and the benches were carved and ornate. At the front there was a raised platform with some sort of mural that looked as though it was carved in gold.
As we headed up the center aisle, a man came out of a side door. He was wearing black robes with a white priest’s collar. “Ah, Logan my son. Good to see you.”
“Father, good to see you too,” Logan said as he shook the priest’s hand.
The priest turned to me. “You must be Raena. I’d recognize you anywhere.”
“Excuse me?” How would he know what I looked like? I’d never met him before.
“Father Matthias has visions, Raena,” Logan explained.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Sit down, Raena, and I will explain,” the Father said.
I complied. Logan sat next to me, while the priest sat on a bench in front of us. “You see, Raena, the Creator gives us many gifts. It’s just a matter of tapping into and using them. One of my gifts is visions. I see people who are in trouble. I see people who have strong gifts and try to guide them in the use of them. Sometimes I see them during the day. It can be quite distracting when that happens.” He laughed. It was a deep, hearty chuckle. I began to laugh too, in spite of myself. “Other times, they come in the form of dreams.” He broke off at my sharp intake of breath. “I see you’ve had some dreams yourself.”
I glanced at Logan. He nodded for me to continue. “I don’t think they were like your dreams. They were… well, manipulated, I guess you could say… by someone else.”
“A devil,” the Father supplied.
I started. “Yeah, how’d you know?”
“I saw you when you were trapped.” He held up a hand to stop what I was going to say. “Now, I know that may seem odd, but as I told you before, I see people in trouble. And you, my daughter, were in the worst kind of trouble. For a human, especially a Nephilim, to be trapped, there is a horror I cannot fully express.”
“How did you know I’m Nephilim?”
“I know many things. Probably more than most. I don’t necessarily like everything that is revealed to me, but I’m usually in a good position to help.” He smiled. “When Logan walked into my church, I almost couldn’t believe my luck. I was at a loss for how to help you. I didn’t know how to get to the Shadow Imperium, and I wasn’t entirely sure I could stand against a devil and win. Then the one person — the one angel — who could win against the forces of darkness appeared to me. I knew of him, from my visions, but I didn’t know how to find him. I believe meeting him was something like a divine appointment where you meet the one person you can help or be helped by at the moment it’s needed most.”
I was feeling a little overwhelmed. “This is all a lot to take in,” I admitted.
“I’m sorry, Raena. I tend to get a little overexcited. After all, it’s not every day a man is able to entertain angels.”
“So, can you tell me more about these gifts?” I asked curiously.
He eyed me for a moment before he responded. “If I’ve been seeing this correctly, I believe that your greatest gift is healing.”
“Healing?”
“Yes, healing. You’re compassionate. You are the type of person who feels others’ pain, or other strong emotions, as if they were your
own. Sometimes you may not even realize it. Do you ever find yourself… how shall I put this… overreacting to something, or losing your temper for no apparent reason?”
I nodded. “Yes, sometimes. I thought that was just me.”
“No, daughter, you are what I’d call an empath, someone who feels others’ emotions as their own, but you could go even further. Within you, you hold the power to heal others emotionally or even physically.”
I didn’t know what to think about this new revelation. “I, umm… I guess I have a lot to think about,” I admitted.
Father Matthias nodded. “Understandable. I will leave the two of you for now. If either of you ever needs anything, please know I am here for you.” He stood. “It was a pleasure to finally meet you, Raena.”
After the priest disappeared into a side room, Logan looked at me. “Want to go?”
“Sure.”
As we walked out, Logan reached for my hand. He stopped in the middle of the parking lot and faced me. “Thanks for going with me today.”
“You didn’t exactly give me much choice.”
He smiled. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s no big deal. I know it was important to you. Sorry I was being obnoxious about it.”
“You’re right, it was important. I wanted you to meet the man who helped me find you. Now you have. Let’s just go back to your house.”
We climbed into the car without another word.
Chapter Six
When we got back to my house, Genevra had lunch ready. They had already eaten, but she had saved some food for Logan and me.
“Get dressed,” Logan said as soon as we finished eating.
I looked down at myself. “I am dressed, in case you didn’t notice.”
He laughed. “I know! I meant, go get dressed up.”
“Why?”
“We’re going to go on that big date I promised you.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“Logan, it’s going to take me a little while to get ready,” I said.
“That’s fine, I can wait.” He stood and pulled me to my feet. “Now, go change!” He shooed me up the stairs.
I paused in the foyer and turned back to him. “Do you promise you’re not going to take off this time?”
He drew an X on his chest with one finger. “Cross my heart.”
I laughed. “Okay, okay, I’m going!”
Running up the stairs, I ransacked my closet. I needed to find something good to wear. I couldn’t wear the same dress I had chosen the day before when Logan and I were supposed to go out. I grabbed the first dress I found in my closet. It was a pale blue one Logan had bought me. I dressed hurriedly and headed for the bathroom to fix my makeup.
“Going somewhere?” Tanis asked from the doorway.
“Yeah, Logan’s taking me on that ‘big date’ he promised.”
“He’s not going to flake this time, is he?”
I pulled out my flatiron and plugged it in. “That’s exactly what I asked,” I told her.
“So, where are you guys going?”
“I have no idea. He hasn’t told me.”
She gave me a speculative look. “I like the dress.”
“Thanks.” I pulled out my makeup bag and started to re-line my eyes. “Logan bought it for me.”
She frowned. “I thought he bought you the purple one you wore when we went to San Francisco with Mom.”
“Yeah, he bought me that one too.”
“Wow, he sure likes to throw his parents’ money around.”
I slammed my eyeliner down on the counter. It wasn’t a very effective reaction. “Hey! Isn’t that a little unnecessary?”
“Sorry.”
“I thought you liked Logan.”
“I do. It’s just… he buys you a lot of stuff.”
“Not really.”
“He bought you dresses, all those clothes when you guys were hiding out in the hotel — for that matter, he paid for the hotel too,” she said.
“So?”
“Nothing. It’s nice of him. It just seems a little… excessive, don’t you think?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Whatever then. I mean, I think you deserve someone who treats you well, especially after everything with Andrei. I’ve told you that before. I just don’t like it when people throw their money around. Especially when it’s their parents’ money and not their own,” she said.
“Do you think I throw my money around?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“It’s what you were thinking though, weren’t you? All these designer clothes and shoes I have…”
“That’s different.”
“How is it different?” I asked.
“Your situation is different.”
“I’m not sure I understand. How is my situation different? Because my mom is dead?”
“No! That’s not what I said. I just — never mind.” She turned and walked back into her bedroom.
I followed her. “Tanis, I’m sorry. I overreacted. I promised myself I wasn’t going to do that anymore.”
She sat on her bed and looked up at me. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I feel bad.”
“It’s fine, really. Why don’t you go finish getting ready to go?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“We’re okay?”
She smiled. “Yeah, we’re okay. Don’t worry.”
“Okay.” I walked back into the bathroom and picked up my flatiron. It took a few passes to make my hair behave, but I got it straight. Unplugging it, I left it on the counter to cool. I spritzed some perfume and then went back into my bedroom.
I had finally gotten a shoe organizer for my closet, so finding the heels I wanted to wear was easy. I remembered our conversation the last time and grabbed a pair of flats too. I would just leave them in Logan’s car in case I needed them.
I walked downstairs carefully. It would be just like me to slip on the stairs. “Ready!” I announced to Logan as I came back into the living room.
His eyes widened when he saw me. “You look great.”
“I would look a lot better if I had been given more time,” I teased.
“Sorry,” he murmured.
“I’m just kidding.”
“Still, you look fabulous. Is that one of the dresses I got you?”
“Of course.” I twirled around experimentally. “Do you like it?”
He smiled. “Do you even have to ask? It looks beautiful on you.”
I eyed him. “Now then, what are we going to do with you?”
He looked down at the jeans and short sleeve button-up shirt he was wearing. “I guess we’re going to have to stop by my house.”
“Let me tell Genevra that we’re leaving, okay?”
“I already talked to her while you were upstairs. She said to have you home by tomorrow.”
“She said what?”
He laughed. “I’m just kidding. She said to have you home by midnight. That’s technically tomorrow.”
“Technically. Okay, well let me just tell her we’re leaving then.”
I wandered into the family room where Genevra was watching a movie. “That’s a rare sight,” I told her.
She looked up. “Hi, Raena. What do you mean?”
“I almost never see you relaxing. You always seem to be cooking or cleaning or running errands.”
“I’m not much of a TV person.”
“I know that. I just meant… never mind.”
She smiled. “I know. So are you and Logan leaving now?”
“Yeah, if that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay. I already gave Logan my permission.”
“My curfew really isn’t until midnight?” Usually she and Shane wanted me home by ten, or eleven at the very latest.
“You’ll be with Logan. He’ll keep you safe. Besides, it’s a long drive.”
“You know where he�
��s taking me?”
“Yes, I know where he’s taking you. It’s part of my job as your guardian to know where your boyfriend is taking you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, I guess we’re going to leave now.”
“Have fun,” she said.
Logan was already waiting for me in the foyer. “Ready?”
“Sure.” I held up the shoes in my hand. “I even remembered flats this time.”
“So I see.” He held out his hand. “Shall we?”
I took his hand and reached for my purse.
Logan stopped me. “Allow me.” He picked up my purse in his free hand.
“You’re going to carry my purse?”
“Why not? Is there a problem?”
“No, of course not. I just never expected to see you carry a purse.”
“Raena, don’t you know by now I’d do anything for you?”
I looked into his eyes. “Yes, I do.”
“Good.” He wrapped the arm holding my purse around my waist and pulled me close. “Don’t ever forget that,” he murmured just before he pressed his lips to mine.
I would never get used to the electricity that passed through me when Logan kissed me. It was enough to steal the breath from my body. My heart began to pound as his mouth moved on mine.
He pulled back all too soon. “At this rate, we’ll never leave.”
I almost didn’t want to, but I couldn’t breathe enough to form the words. I nodded instead.
He released me, although he still held onto my hand. “Let’s go.”
We walked slowly out to his car and he helped me get in. After he shut the passenger door, I tossed my flats into the backseat. Then I kicked off my heels so I would be comfortable during the drive. “So are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked Logan as he climbed into the car.
“Nope. It’s a surprise.”
“I’m going to figure it out when we get there,” I told him.
“Right, when we get there. But I don’t think you’ll figure it out until we do get there.”
There was no way I was going to get anything out of him. We stayed quiet on the way to his house.
“Do you want to come in?” he asked as we pulled into the driveway.
